t man he had. But the mischief was done. The whole
city of Mexico, the whole country round, had risen in fury, had driven
the Spanish garrison into the great palace; and worst of all, had burnt
the boats, which Cortez had left to get off by, if the bridges were burst
down. So there was Alvarado shut up, exactly like the English at
Lucknow, with this difference, that the Spaniards deserved what they got,
and the English, God knows, _did not_. And there was Cortez like another
Havelock or Colin Campbell marching to deliver them. But he met a very
different reception. These crafty Mexicans never struck a blow. All was
as still as the grave. As they came over the long causeways and bridges,
there was not a canoe upon the lake, not an Indian in the floating
gardens. As they marched through the streets of the glorious city, the
streets were as empty as a desert. And the Spaniard knew that he was
walking into a trap, out of which none of them might come out alive; but
their hearts never failed them, and they marched on to the sound of their
bugles, and were answered by joyful salutes of cannon from the relieved
garrison.

The Mexicans had shut up the markets, and no food was to be got. Cortez
sent to open them. He sent another messenger off to the coast to say all
was safe, and that he should soon conquer the rebels. But here, a
cleverer man than I must tell the story.

"But scarcely had his messenger been gone half an hour, when he returned
breathless with terror and covered with wounds. 'The city,' he said,
'was all in arms! the drawbridges were raised, and the enemy would soon
be upon them! He spoke truth. It was not long before a hoarse sullen
sound became audible, like that of the roaring of distant waters. It
grew louder and louder, till from the parapet surrounding the enclosure,
the great avenues which led to it might be seen dark with the masses of
warriors, who came rolling on in a confused tide towards the fortress. At
the same time the terraces and flat roofs in the neighbourhood were
thronged with combatants, brandishing their missiles, who seemed to have
risen up as if by magic! It was a spectacle to appall the stoutest. The
Spanish forces were crowded into a small compact mass in the palace, and
the whole army could be assembled at a moment's notice. No sooner,
therefore, did the trumpet call to arms, than every soldier was at his
post--the cavalry mounted, the artillerymen at their guns, an